Chapter 219: Purging Heresy [1]

The Heresy Hunt began at dawn.

A few hours before the Paladins were deployed into the three major cities of the Northern Hashian Mountains, the Glorious Mythical Sect released an official, grand decree across every province.

Herald arrays and magic scrolls broadcasted the declaration into the market squares, accusing the hidden Church of the God of Beast of practicing horrific human sacrifices, butchering innocent mortals, and committing absolute heresy against the heavens.

The announcement declared that holy envoys from the divine Church of the God of the Sky had arrived to punish these monstrous criminals and bring righteous justice to the region.

The citizens were strictly ordered to remain calm, stay inside their homes, and cooperate completely as the holy Paladins proceeded with their search.

By mid-morning, the streets of Jayrel City were eerie, desolate, and silent.

A squad of two Grey Paladins, encased in their featureless, radiant silver steel armor, marched heavy-footed through the residential district.

Their sheathed broadswords clanked against their armored thighs, their oppressive mana perception sweeping over every brick, alley, and rooftop.

They searched street by street, building by building, kicking open wooden gates and forcing their way into private quarters.

Not a single civilian dared to resist them.

The ordinary, mundane humans of Jayrel City were terrified, paralyzed by the sheer, crushing pressure of the two cultivators.

They knew that defying a cultivator meant instant death.

Yet, despite the absolute lack of resistance, the Paladins were far from gentle.

They shoved elderly men into the dirt, kicked open family larders, and brutally struck anyone who did not move out of their path fast enough.

To these holy warriors, ordinary mortals were little more than insects crawling on the floor.

The high commanders had restricted them from committing mindless slaughter—not out of mercy, but because the Church of the God of the Sky had yet to solidify its total political dominance across the Northern Hashian Mountains.

Until the region was fully annexed, indiscriminate massacres would provoke widespread riots that even the Glorious Mythical Sect might struggle to suppress.

The only situation where the Paladins were legally permitted to draw blood and kill as they pleased was in the event of active mortal resistance.

Anyone who raised a hand, spat, or refused a command could instantly be branded a demonic colluder and executed on the spot with absolute impunity.

But nobody resisted.

Every family cowered, every father bowed his head, and every mother shielded her children in silence.

As the hours dragged on, the two Paladins grew increasingly frustrated.

It had been years since they were deployed outside the central jurisdiction of the Holy Church, free from the strict oversight of the High Cardinals.

They had savored the rare opportunity to unleash their suppressed, violent urges upon lowborn mortals, yet no valid pretext for bloodshed had presented itself.

They were predators starving for an excuse to strike.

By late afternoon, the two silver-armored figures arrived before a modest, two-story stone house situated near the edge of the residential quarter.

BANG!

Without bother to knock, the lead Paladin raised his heavy, steel-clad boot and kicked the wooden front door straight off its hinges.

The heavy oak crashed onto the floor, sending a cloud of dust sweeping into the living room.

The Paladins marched inside, their silver visors gleaming under the dim indoor light. Inside, a terrified family of four—a young father, his wife, a teenage boy, and a little girl—cowered near the hearth.

"Holy lords!" the father cried out, throwing himself onto his hands and knees. "We are loyal, god-fearing citizens! We harbor no ill will—"

Before the man could finish his sentence, the second Paladin stepped forward and delivered a brutal kick to his ribs.

CRACK!

The sharp sound of breaking bone echoed through the room as the father collapsed onto his side, gasping violently for air.

The mother shrieked in horror, rushing to grab her weeping daughter, only to be roughly shoved to the ground by the lead Paladin’s gauntlet.

"Silence, lowborn trash!" the lead Paladin growled, his voice muffled behind his featureless visor. "We are conducting a holy inspection of this residence for heretical marks!"

They proceeded to wreck the living quarters, flipping heavy oak tables, shattering ceramic jars, and tearing open floorboards in a crude, violent search.

As the Paladins trashed the humble home, the family’s eldest child—the teenage boy—lay pinned against the wall, clutching his bleeding shoulder.

His chest heaved with wild, uncontrollable rage as his eyes locked onto his mother, who was sobbing on the floor, her dress torn and her face bruised.

Something inside the boy snapped. The overwhelming fear that had kept him frozen vanished, replaced by an intoxicating, blinding wave of hatred.

His trembling hand reached out, his fingers wrapping around a heavy, brass oil lamp resting on a small stool beside him.

With a sharp, gutteral cry, the boy threw the brass lamp with all his meager strength straight at the lead Paladin’s back.

CLANG! SHATTER!

The brass lamp struck the Paladin’s shoulder plate, shattering into tiny metal fragments and splashing cold lamp oil across the gleaming silver steel.

The room fell into a dead, suffocating silence.

The lead Paladin slowly turned his head around.

Though his face was completely hidden behind his silver visor, the intense, murderous aura that flared from his body made the air inside the room drop to sub-zero temperatures.

"Insolent worm..." the Paladin hissed, stepping slowly toward the terrified youth. "You dare attack an envoy of the God of the Sky?"

The mother, realizing the fatal horror of the situation, dragged herself across the floor on her knees, desperately throwing her body between her son and the armored giant.

"Mercy, my lord! Please, mercy!" she wept hysterically, pressing her forehead repeatedly against the Paladin’s steel boots until her skin bled.

"He is just a child! He didn’t mean it! He was only scared seeing how you treated me—he doesn’t know what he’s doing! Please, forgive him!"

The lead Paladin stopped, looking down at the weeping mother beneath his feet. A cold, cruel laughter echoed from behind his visor.

"Scared of how I treated you?" the Paladin mocked, his voice dripping with sinister delight.

"So you admit to harbouring resentment against the Holy Church? You teach your offspring to strike at the servants of the heavens? That is not fear, woman... that is the clear, poisonous seed of heresy!"

Before the mother could scream another word, the Paladin drew his broadsword in a swift, blinding arc.

SCHWING!

A flash of holy silver light cut through the dim room.

THUD.

The mother’s headless corpse collapsed onto the stone floor, dark crimson blood spurting out and staining her daughter’s face.

"MOTHER!" the boy screamed, his voice cracking into a ragged, desperate shriek.

The two Paladins unleashed their full, oppressive mana pressure as Initial-stage Martial Generals.

The sheer, weight of their cultivation crushed the air out of the remaining three mortals, forcing them flat onto the bloody floor, unable to move a single muscle.

The lead Paladin raised his blood-stained broadsword, his voice cold and devoid of a single drop of humanity.

"This entire household has been corrupted by the demon worship of the God of Beast. Purge them all."

The little girl’s whimpers and the boy’s desperate screams were cut short within seconds.

A few moments later, the two Grey Paladins stepped back out onto the quiet street, wiping the fresh blood from their blades before sheathing them.

Behind them, inside the silent, ruined stone house, an entire innocent family lay completely wiped out—their blood slowly pooling under the open doorway and spilling into the dirt outside.